| 1 | 1 | | |
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| 2 | 2 | | HOUSE BILL 414 |
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| 3 | 3 | | By Davis |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | SENATE BILL 1096 |
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| 6 | 6 | | By Hensley |
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| 7 | 7 | | |
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| 8 | 8 | | |
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| 9 | 9 | | SB1096 |
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| 10 | 10 | | 001018 |
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| 11 | 11 | | - 1 - |
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| 12 | 12 | | |
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| 13 | 13 | | AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49 |
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| 14 | 14 | | and Title 68, Chapter 120, relative to places of |
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| 15 | 15 | | worship used for educational purposes. |
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| 16 | 16 | | |
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| 17 | 17 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE: |
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| 18 | 18 | | SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 68-120-101, is amended by adding |
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| 19 | 19 | | the following as a new subsection: |
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| 20 | 20 | | (l) |
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| 21 | 21 | | (1) For purposes of this subsection (l), "place of worship" means a |
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| 22 | 22 | | structure primarily used for religious worship and associated activities. |
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| 23 | 23 | | (2) Notwithstanding another law to the contrary: |
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| 24 | 24 | | (A) An existing place of worship may be used for educational |
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| 25 | 25 | | purposes without reclassification of the building's occupancy type; |
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| 26 | 26 | | provided that: |
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| 27 | 27 | | (i) The building complies with the safety upgrade |
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| 28 | 28 | | requirements specified in subdivision (l)(3); and |
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| 29 | 29 | | (ii) The educational use does not exceed the existing |
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| 30 | 30 | | occupancy load as determined by the local fire marshal. |
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| 31 | 31 | | (3) An existing place of worship used for educational purposes must |
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| 32 | 32 | | meet the following fire safety upgrade requirements: |
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| 33 | 33 | | (A) Smoke detectors must be: |
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| 34 | 34 | | (i) Installed in all classrooms, corridors, and common |
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| 35 | 35 | | areas; |
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| 36 | 36 | | (ii) Interconnected to activate simultaneously; and |
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| 37 | 37 | | |
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| 38 | 38 | | |
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| 39 | 39 | | - 2 - 001018 |
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| 40 | 40 | | |
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| 41 | 41 | | (iii) Hardwired to the building's electrical system with |
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| 42 | 42 | | battery backup; |
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| 43 | 43 | | (B) Audible alarms must meet or exceed the decibel levels |
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| 44 | 44 | | required by the building and fire safety codes adopted by the state fire |
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| 45 | 45 | | marshal; |
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| 46 | 46 | | (C) Strobe alarms must be installed in classrooms, assembly |
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| 47 | 47 | | areas, and common areas to ensure alerting of hearing-impaired |
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| 48 | 48 | | individuals; |
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| 49 | 49 | | (D) Emergency exits must be clearly marked, unobstructed, and |
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| 50 | 50 | | in compliance with applicable state and local egress standards; and |
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| 51 | 51 | | (E) Fire extinguishers must be provided and maintained as |
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| 52 | 52 | | required by local fire codes, with at least one (1) extinguisher on each |
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| 53 | 53 | | floor and in each high-risk area such as a kitchen. |
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| 54 | 54 | | (4) A place of worship used for educational purposes that complies with |
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| 55 | 55 | | this subsection (l) is exempt from requirements for automatic fire sprinkler |
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| 56 | 56 | | systems. |
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| 57 | 57 | | SECTION 2. This act takes effect July 1, 2025, the public welfare requiring it. |
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